What should a new computer have?

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Solidify

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My friend's buying a new computer and he would like to know what he should keep his eyes peeled for. With regards to HD capacity, RAM, graphics card, etc., what should he be looking for? His budget is about 400-500 dollars.

So far this is all I got.

  • at least 4GB of RAM
  • at least 500GB of Hard Drive room
  • USB 3.0 compatible

Feel free to add to it.
 
I'm not sure but he's not an advanced user. Probably just browsing, emails and Facebook. Nonetheless, I want him to have a good computer.
 
You need a nice graphics card ofcourse!
even if you aren't doing hardcore gaming a nice graphics card is always a good thing to have in your comp.

Also if it is a really nice graphics card and you have other nice components that are going to heat up your comp be sure you have several fans, or at least 1 or 2 quality fans.
 
Assuming he has peripherals (keyboard, etc) and a monitor, then this would be a pretty good system for casual gaming and web browsing. (Actually, it's pretty powerful, esp. for the price)

Code: 
CPU: Athlon II X4 640 		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871&cm_re=athlon_ii_x4-_-19-103-871-_-Product		100USD
HDD: Seagate 1TB 7200.12	http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433&cm_re=seagate_barracuda_7200.12-_-22-148-433-_-Product	65USD
Ram: Kingston 4GB HyperX	http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104223								55USD
Mobo: ASUS M4a87td		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131651&cm_re=m4a87td-_-13-131-651-_-Product			100USD
Case: Antec 300 		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-042-_-Product			60USD
PSU: Antec 500W Earthwatts	http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035&cm_re=earthwatts-_-17-371-035-_-Product			50USD
DVD: Samsung SH-s223C		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151192								22USD
GPU: Sapphire HD 5770		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873&cm_re=hd_5770-_-14-102-873-_-Product			135USD
Total:																			587USD

He can either use guides and assemble it himself, or get one of his mates to for some beer (another 10-20USD to total )
 

For that, he'd need to buy each component separately, no? If so, he can't. He doesn't know anything about computers. Zero, zilch, nada. But he still wants a powerful computer.

I'd need a link to a computer that I could simply send him to buy.
 
He needs a good Graphics Card, if hes going to be playing any games on it. XD
 
Fireren said:
He needs a good Graphics Card, if hes going to be playing any games on it. XD
Click to expand...

And how exactly would I identify a 'good' graphics card among all others?
 
Solidify said:
He doesn't know anything about computers. Zero, zilch, nada. But he still wants a powerful computer.
Click to expand...
Then he's going to need to pay more than 500$. You can get a powerful tower for 500 bux, but you build it yourself. Tell him to get his mom to build it or something. You won't get nearly as much power buying a shitty pre-built 500$ tower than you would building one.

However if he wants a facebook/college computer, just go to walmart and buy a dell. Maybe having them yank him back and forth when the shit breaks and the warranty has holes in it might make him want to learn how to make his own PC.]




Also, in reply to your above post:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130580

That card will run any game on the market currently, and it's cheap. Seeing as he is not a gamer, that means he wont need to upgrade his video card for years to come if he buys that one.

You identify a good video card by the reviews and specs:
1GB DDR3 Video Memory = Will run anything today (It's not the most powerful card out there but it will)
PCI-E 2.0 (Pci Express) = That's the slot on the mobo it fits into, every up to date mobo these days will be able to fit it.
And then look at reviews. Some cards are good but burn out fast, waste of money even with a warranty.
 

Alright. But if he'd have to buy his own PC, I understand the part about buying each and every component he would like individually and installing it into his tower himself but what about the tower itself? How do we know which one to buy considering the parts will be replaced?

Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the concept of 'building' a PC. Please elaborate as I too have never done so.
 

The parts follow what is called form factor. You just have to find out which form factor your parts are, making sure they are all the same, and then buy a casing/tower that supports that form factor.
 
Basically when building a PC you have to make sure everything works together (example: the bit about how that above video card fits a PCI-E 2.0 slot. Without that slot on your keyboard you myaswell just mash your face against it and it'll have the same effect). And also, if yuo want to prepare for future expansion, you must get a half-decent motherboard and such (So it has up-to-date slots that will fit future video cards and such)

You know, not trying to be a dick but there are probably way better guides on google.

HJeres one i found with 1 google search: http://www.build-a-computer-guide.com/ Looks good too.
 
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